Florida’s Ad War Shows Mitt Romney And Allies Pummeling Newt Gingrich

While Newt Gingrich boasts of a big post-South Carolina fundraising haul, his campaign is getting outspent by more than a 10-1 margin on the Florida airwaves.

According to a source with knowledge of Florida TV advertising purchases, the Romney campaign and the pro-Romney SuperPAC “Restore Our Future” have purchased a combined $6.8M worth of TV time in the state, while the Gingrich campaign and the pro-Gingrich SuperPAC “Winning Our Future” have purchased a combined $501,000 of TV ad time.

Moreover, there are signs that Winning Our Future, which is being bankrolled by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, may be running low on cash. The group, which invested millions in anti-Romney attacks ads in South Carolina, has purchased just three days worth of TV time (January 24 -27) in just three media markets, Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville, for a total cost of $356,000.

Restore Our Future, meanwhile, has bought $4.5M and is up in every one of Florida’s ten media markets.

To be sure, these are just initial buys which can be increased over the course of the next week. Still, it’s also worth noting that the Gingrich campaign does not currently have an ads running on broadcast TV. His campaign has purchased $145,000 worth of cable TV advertising – on Fox, from this Tuesday until January 31st.

UPDATE: The wife of Sheldon Adelson, Miriam, is reported by AP to be giving the Gingrich-supporting SuperPAC “Winning Our Future” $5 million, although AP reported she wanted the money spent on ads that were positive about Gingrich and not negative about other candidates.